BELMONT, Calif. – Monday was a good news kind of day for the Chaminade University women's volleyball team.
First, the Silverswords learned that despite being idle last week, the layoff did not cost them their national ranking in the AVCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. The 'Swords checked in at No. 24, up one spot, their third consecutive week in the poll.
Second, they learned that injured outside hitters
Brooklen Pe'a (Woods Cross, Utah/Youngstown State/Bountiful HS) and
Greta Corti (Varese, Italy/University of San Francisco/Alessandro Manzoni Liceo HS) would be available.
Finally, they ended the day with a convincing 25-19, 25-13, 25-20 sweep of Academy of Art at the Walter Gleason Gym on the campus of Notre Dame de Namur University, the start of a four-match road trip.
Seven 'Swords had at least four kills in a balanced attack, led by eight each from
Annah Rivera (Granada Hills, Calif./Bishop Alemany) and
Lataisia Saulala (Morgan Hill, Calif./Oakwood).
Marcelle Butler (Woodstock, Ga./Howard University/Sequoyah HS) and
Kyra McCain (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton) added seven each with five coming off the arms of Corti and
Alexia Byrnes (Chicago/Youngstown State/Saint Francis HS).
The Silverswords improved to 12-3 overall and 2-1 in the Pacific West Conference. The Urban Knights (4-8, 1-3 PacWest) were paced by Isaura Santos' match-high nine kills.
ART U held their own in the first set, forging a 15-all tie. But the 'Swords ran off six straight points with two Pe'a service aces with a kill and block assist each from McCain and Byrnes. They also hit .382.
The second set saw Chaminade outscore Academy of Art 14-3 in natural points. Six of the Silverswords' points were aces, three each from
Anna Dalla Vecchia (Vicenza, Italy/University of San Francisco/IIS S.B. Boscardin HS) and
Kendall Rios (Tustin, Calif./Foothill).
ART U was more competitive in what proved to be the final set, using a 4-0 run to chop a 16-9 Chaminade lead down to 16-13. However Saulala's two kills and another from Butler were part of a 5-1 response to help the 'Swords win their 15th consecutive match in the conference's Northern California pod, dating back to 2017.
Pe'a, who missed the previous two matches, had four kills and four digs in her return to the lineup while Corti, who missed the last five matches, played just the third set and put down five kills.
Byrnes dished out 31 assists while Dalla Vecchia had a match-high 18 digs. McCain proved three total blocks.
Chaminade hit .287 as a team and held the Urban Knights to .139. They had 37 assists and 52 digs with five total team blocks. The 'Swords also out-aced ART U 9-to-2.
The Silverswords face Dominican University of California at the Conlon Center on Wednesday. Dominican is allowing fans with admission at $10 per person on a cash only basis. Because there is no ATM nearby, Penguins athletics administration is requesting fans to bring adequate cash to the Conlon Center.
